General Appearance.—Shape conical, either steep or considerably depressed; sometimes tubular; orifice either nearly entire or deeply toothed, not large, varying from rhomboidal to rounded-trigonal. Surface of shell smooth, never ribbed, generally naked, but occasionally the yellowish epidermis is persistent; in the same individual, I have seen all the lower part of the shell thus covered and the upper part naked, the line of separation being defined. The colour varies much, even sometimes considerably on the same individual; generally white or pale gray, with dull violet-coloured, longitudinal, moderately broad stripes; these stripes are sometimes equidistant, but more usually they are arranged so as to leave broad white spaces; the stripes fade away by endless variations, the edges of the compartments and the carinal end of the shell longest retaining any colour, until we have a uniformly white shell, generally covered with a yellowish epidermis; or the white is longitudinally marked with hyaline lines; this latter variety has a very peculiar aspect, and I did not doubt it was specifically distinct, until, in a number of specimens on a ship from the West Indies, I got the most perfect series, and another scarcely less perfect series from the Mediterranean, graduating into common coloured varieties. Rarely the dull violet or purple stripes become approximate and dark, so that the whole shell is tinted of a brownish slate-colour, occasionally freckled with white. Again, we have another set of very pretty varieties, with a white or very pale pink ground, with either narrow bright pink or broad pinkish-purple stripes. Again, I have seen numerous specimens of a variety, var. Stutsburi, from the west coast of Africa, in which the upper part of the shell is white, and the lower part shaded with pinkish or dark purple approximate stripes, which often become confluent; in one group, the whole shell being thus uniformly coloured, without any vestige of stripes. I have seen another group from an unknown locality, in which the lower part of the shell was uniformly blueish-gray. A variety from Australia has narrow approximate dark claret-coloured stripes, transversely freckled with white. Lastly, in the variety cirratus, the whole shell is very pale purplish-brown, with indistinct longitudinal brownish stripes, transversely freckled with white lines. I considered this as a distinct species, until quite lately finding forms which I could not possibly determine whether to class as B. cirratus or amphitrite.

The radii are generally snow-white, or freckled with a bright mahogany tint, or rarely clouded with purple, or in the pink varieties with pink. The scuta are dull purple or pink, generally with a white band along their tergal margin; often, however, they are white, with merely one or two purple fasciæ. The thickness or strength of the shells varies much; some specimens attached to a floating cane, from Natal and the Philippine Archipelago, were extremely strong; others, from the Mediterranean and Australia, and some tubular varieties from the West Indies, were very thin, translucent, and fragile. Size: large specimens generally attain a diameter of from half to three quarters of an inch in basal diameter; and I have seen one or two specimens an inch in diameter.

Scutum; sometimes the surface is very smooth, but generally the growth-ridges are moderately prominent; the latter are occasionally very finely beaded, and this seems always the case with var. cirratus. Internally, the articular ridge is prominent and reflexed: the adductor ridge is sharp, very prominent, and straight; it runs parallel to the occludent margin; close to its lower side there is often a depression (Pl. 5, fig. 2 i), sometimes bounded by a slight ridge, as if for the attachment of a muscle, but there certainly is no muscle here: rarely the adductor ridge is only slightly prominent: there is a small and shallow little pit of variable depth for the lateral depressor muscle.

Tergum (2 k-2 o); this valve is here far more variable than in any other species: in the commonest purple-striped forms (2 l), the valve is rather broad, the basal margin lies in nearly a straight line on the opposite sides of the spur, which is placed at rather less than its own width from the basi-scutal angle; the spur is rather short, and in width about one fourth of the entire valve; its lower end is either bluntly pointed or more commonly nearly square (2 k) and parallel to the basal margin: in young specimens it is generally sharper than in older ones. Externally, in the line of the spur, there is either a slight longitudinal depression, or more rarely a deep furrow. The carinal margin is more or less convex, and is formed by upturned lines of growth: the scutal margin is broadly inflected. Internally, the articular ridge in the upper part is very prominent: the crests for the tergal depressor muscle are moderately prominent, but very variable. Sometimes the carinal portion of the basal margin is slightly hollowed out. In var. Stutsburi (2 m, 2 n, 2 o), and in some white varieties, which differ most in the shape of the tergum from the commoner varieties, the whole valve is narrower, the spur is much sharper and narrower, the carinal half of the basal margin is much hollowed out and slopes down towards the spur, with the crests for the depressor muscles depending beneath the basal margin, and with the carinal margin sometimes extremely convex or protuberant. But the shape and position of the spur, and the outline of the carinal half of the basal margin vary much in nearly all the varieties.

Compartments.—The upper parts of the parietal pores are either filled up solidly with, generally coloured, shell, or they are crossed by thin transverse calcerous septa: the longitudinal parietal septa occasionally bifurcate at their bases close to the outer lamina, making an irregular outer row of minute pores. The Radii have their septa rather fine, and finely denticulated on both sides, but sometimes only on the lower side; the thickness of the septa varies a little; the interspaces are filled up solidly; the summits of the radii are jagged and oblique, and usually form an angle of about 45° with the basis, not being added to above the level of the opercular membrane; but not rarely they reach up much higher, and are very nearly parallel to the basis, extending from tip to tip of the compartments. Again, in some ordinary varieties, and always in var. Stutsburi, the summits of the radii are extremely oblique, the radii themselves forming a mere border to the compartments to which they belong. In no other species have I seen so great an amount of variation in the form of the summits of the radii. The alæ, in like manner, have their summits either very oblique, not being added to above the opercular membrane, or they are only slightly oblique; it often happens that in those specimens in which the summits of the radii are nearly parallel to the basis, the alæ are very oblique, and the converse: in other individuals, both radii and alæ have equally oblique summits. The sutural edges of the alæ vary in thickness, being either very thin and obscurely crenated, or moderately thick and ribbed. The basis is porose; but I have never seen an underlying cancellated layer of shell, as is so common in several species.

Mouth: labrum, with from four to eight, generally with six, little teeth: mandibles with three teeth, and two minute lower teeth, or mere knobs: maxillæ with the edge straight, or with the inferior part forming a slightly step-formed projection. Cirri: the rami of the first pair are unequal by three or four segments, but in some specimens by five or six segments, with the front surfaces of the segments in the shorter ramus extremely protuberant. The second pair of cirri are short, with the front surfaces of the segments moderately protuberant: the third pair have a tuft of bristles at their bases on the thorax. The segments in the sixth pair have from four to six pairs of spines on the segments; equal-sized specimens seem to vary in this latter respect. There is a small sharp projection on the dorsal base of the penis.

With respect to var. 1, communis, I have nothing further to remark, except that I have seen specimens identically similar from the Mediterranean, Natal, the Philippine Archipelago, and Sydney; at the latter place it is said to be rare, but in most places it is the commonest variety, and is often attached to ships’ bottoms. Of var. 2, venustus, I have seen specimens from the west coast of Africa, Natal, and Ceylon, in groups by themselves, and associated with var. communis; it is much less common than var. 1. The third variety, pallidus, is not uncommon; I have seen many specimens from the bottoms of ships, from the West Indies, and the west coast of Africa. Of the var. 4, niveus, I have seen the most perfect graduated series passing into var. 1, both from the West Indies, Florida, and the Mediterranean: I have seen other specimens from the Red Sea and Madagascar. Of the var. 5, modestus, I have seen only one group from an unknown locality; it is only remarkable from its uniform colouring. The var. 6, Stutsburi, is more remarkable than the foregoing; until quite lately I did not doubt that it was specifically distinct; but as I have seen every character graduate into other varieties, I am now convinced that it is not a true species: all the specimens which I have seen have come on shells, or on ships’ bottoms, from West Africa. Of var. 7, obscurus, I have seen three or four groups of specimens from unknown quarters, both on pebbles, shells, and on cork (probably from the Atlantic ocean); and likewise some specimens taken from the bottom of Her Majesty’s ship “Fly,” on the east coast of Australia; these latter are intermediate in character with the next var. variegatus; from the Australian seas, which I at first ranked as an undoubted species, but I have subsequently failed in discovering any sufficient diagnostic character. Lastly, of var. cirratus, I have seen several groups of specimens from India and the Philippine Archipelago, and a group intermediate in character between this and the first and third varieties, from Australia; I retained this variety owing to its peculiar freckled, pale brown colouring and beaded scuta (of which, however, I have seen decided traces in the common variety), as a distinct species, after I had given up all the foregoing forms. I entertain some doubts whether I have now acted right; but when I found some specimens which, I found it impossible to decide, whether to rank as amphitrite or cirratus, I determined to take the more prudent course, and sink the latter as a species. This variety, also, seems to connect B. amphitrite and concavus very closely.